I love my Nook Simple Touch and rooted Color Nook.

Beeblebrox: I love my Nook Simple Touch and rooted Color Nook.

It's probably going to be called Newkster in the future.

Just hinting at it means it is over...

Frankly, I don't think there is room for 2 competitors in the digital book market. The only thing they can compete on is price, and they don't really have control over the price - the publishers do.

Amazon, I think, has the lead, and will keep it. They're just better at it. And they don't have to worry about keeping a bunch of brick & mortar stores alive.

Barnes & Noble is doomed, I think. Big retail bookstores are about 10 years away from being gone entirely. Isn't Barnes & Noble the only one left anyway?

brigid_fitch: As much as I like the Nook, I can't see this as a good thing. With all the pads floating around, dedicated eReaders will become obsolete in a few years.

Exactly. Get out while the gettin's good.

brigid_fitch: As much as I like the Nook, I can't see this as a good thing. With all the pads floating around, dedicated eReaders will become obsolete in a few years.

Not unless they invent some magic screen technology that reads better than e-ink. Glare and battery life are both problems when I read on my phone.

adenosine: brigid_fitch: As much as I like the Nook, I can't see this as a good thing. With all the pads floating around, dedicated eReaders will become obsolete in a few years.

Not unless they invent some magic screen technology that reads better than e-ink. Glare and battery life are both problems when I read on my phone.

Glare, barely. And two and a half days of battery life on my iPad 2. Not too shabby. Whichever works for you, honestly. But I can't see myself toting ANOTHER device around.

brigid_fitch: As much as I like the Nook, I can't see this as a good thing. With all the pads floating around, dedicated eReaders will become obsolete in a few years.

That's why I rooted the one I got as a gift.

Now it's an Android Tablet. Sure, it's not exactly gigantic in size, but I can stream Netflix to my Nook and access Kindle books as well as the books on my B&N account...

adenosine: brigid_fitch: As much as I like the Nook, I can't see this as a good thing. With all the pads floating around, dedicated eReaders will become obsolete in a few years.

Not unless they invent some magic screen technology that reads better than e-ink. Glare and battery life are both problems when I read on my phone.

This a million times. I only read books on my e-ink device. I can't stand reading on other screens. Plus the size of the Nook Simple Touch is just about perfect.

adenosine: Not unless they invent some magic screen technology that reads better than e-ink. Glare and battery life are both problems when I read on my phone.

I am not buying a tablet until this is solved. Apple has already applied for a patent for a hybrid e-ink/LCD screen. Whoever gets this technology right first is the company that I will buy a tablet from. Not until then.

adenosine: brigid_fitch: As much as I like the Nook, I can't see this as a good thing. With all the pads floating around, dedicated eReaders will become obsolete in a few years.

Not unless they invent some magic screen technology that reads better than e-ink. Glare and battery life are both problems when I read on my phone.

I've occasionally heard mention of technologies like color e-ink and OLED that could potentially combine the advantages of LCD and e-ink (full color, minimal glare, miniscule power usage), but last I heard they were all still too expensive for consumer devices.

Actually, Barnes & Noble is one of the few retailers out there that's had success with spinning off its subsidiaries to create dominant players in niche markets. Ever hear of a little company called GameStop?

Where B&N is potentially being smart here is in allowing Nook the room to grow without being shackled to a much larger retailer that's losing money due to a declining industry. If Nook is its own company, it has the room to get investor confidence even if B&N is losing it. It will also free Nook up to focus on more competitive pricing without having to honor B&N's existing relationships with frightened publishers.

Amazon is actually the company that should be worrying right now, because while the Kindle Fire is riding the wave of success from all the hype that's been generated and the eReader market is outselling the tablet market handily, Amazon's in danger of being beaten at the digital distribution game if the largest publishers decide to cut it out of the game in favor of offering more eBooks for tablets.

Right now, the problem is that Apple and Amazon are the biggest and best choices for digital distribution, but both are draconian and not well-liked by large publishers who are used to being the darlings of their sales channel and who have never let retailers push them around. Nook could lock down some exclusives since it's platform-independent (you can use Nook on pretty much everything but Amazon and Apple's devices) and its staff could be made up of old-school publishing industry pros.

So, it might seem stupid. But it could wind up being one of those decisions that changes how things are done. It's also not at all like the Netflix situation, where it was pretty clear that Netflix was hoping to divest itself of its costliest operation so it could boost its value.

Dammit, I was going to buy a Nook. I'll have to shell out buko bucks for an iPad before this is all over, won't I?

Amazon isn't going anywhere and the Fire a lot of fun, purchased three already for family, will probably be getting that many more.

Lady Beryl Ersatz-Wendigo: Dammit, I was going to buy a Nook. I'll have to shell out buko bucks for an iPad before this is all over, won't I?


Buy a refurb nook color for $149. Root it. It will last you till this gets sorted and you will be ready to upgrade by then anyway.

/that's my plan
//got one for the kid too.

Dammit, I hope B&N makes it. Amazon, Google, etc., need a competitor in the publishing business. As a librarian, I see that these general public companies put pressure on the big publishers to open up the format of ebooks and keep consumer prices down.

/and I'm typing this on my brand new Nook Tablet, that, although flawed, I love

Lyonstaff: Amazon isn't going anywhere and the Fire a lot of fun, purchased three already for family, will probably be getting that many more.

no SD card reader, made me stay with my rooted nook color,


I don't need Amazon seeing everything I am doing

Gunny Walker: secularsage: (you can use Nook on pretty much everything but Amazon and Apple's devices)

You can get Kindle on just about everything but a Nook.

you can get Kindle on a nook, w/rooting and custom rom

Kanemano: no SD card reader

What for?

With Border's out of the picture, small bookstores are having a boom year -- their first in decades.

Rather than supporting big corporations and getting suck into vendor lock-in, I'll just continue buying paper books from independent retailers, thanks.

Kar98: Kanemano: no SD card reader

What for?

video,

that spreadsheet from work that I want to review, but I will get fired if it gets out that someone else has a copy of it

music that I ripped from my own CD's,

Photo's from my vacation that I took with my SLR and tweaked in Photoshop so that they look great on my tablet, but don't want to go thru the whole degradation of the image via uploading it to the "cloud" and then back again.

stuff like that
and a few other things

hurdboy: B&N is desperately looking for a way to spin the brand off into something other than gigantic box bookstores, so it can bankrupt that old operation, and shutter most of them.

Since the merger with Borders failed, try something else.

Even if they're turning a profit, the outstanding obligations don't look good to Wall Street.

Best Buy would do this in a heartbeat if they could come up with a decent product.

B&N should spin off the book stores and keep the Nook.

I'm not buying a tablet until ebooks are cheaper than Amazon, used, and bargain bins.

The fark book is 10.99 on Kindle, 10.20 paperback from Amazon, and cheaper from secondary sellers.

I can regularly get hardcover books just a couple years old from the bargain bin or used bookstore for less than 8 bucks, paperbacks that have been out for a couple years for less than 6.

While I would never buy one, I received a Nook Tablet for Christmas and love it. I have considered turning it into a Android tablet but have decided to just leave stock. I like it fine as an e-reader. My only problem is the anemic app market. B&N really need to open that up. I am glad I didn't get a Kindle because of the lack of SD slot.

Kanemano: Kar98: Kanemano: no SD card reader

What for?

video,

that spreadsheet from work that I want to review, but I will get fired if it gets out that someone else has a copy of it

music that I ripped from my own CD's,

Photo's from my vacation that I took with my SLR and tweaked in Photoshop so that they look great on my tablet, but don't want to go thru the whole degradation of the image via uploading it to the "cloud" and then back again.

stuff like that
and a few other things

Wouldn't a USB sync cable do that too?

Panyen: While I would never buy one, I received a Nook Tablet for Christmas and love it. I have considered turning it into a Android tablet but have decided to just leave stock. I like it fine as an e-reader. My only problem is the anemic app market. B&N really need to open that up. I am glad I didn't get a Kindle because of the lack of SD slot.

Those are all the reasons I got my Nook Tablet, and I was pretty pissed to pay $0.99 for a freakin' calculator (which should have been included). If they don't make some improvements this year I might look into rooting and a custom rom after the warranty runs out. Also, their web site sucks in general compared to Amazon web site. I hope they overhaul it soon. I hadn't looked at it in years until I bought a Nook, so now I am a B&N customer after 15 years as a dedicated Amazon customer. Ya'll listening to this ya stupid companies???

There are lots of good, free books from Gutenberg Press (new window), if you like classics, plus I've been scouring the B&N web page for bargains, and have found a few (they don't make it easy). My print-based Wired subscription is now available on the Nook, but it wasn't a month ago. Now if my other magazine subscriptions could be convinced to go that way, I would be happier with it.

Kanemano: Kar98: Kanemano: no SD card reader

What for?

video,

that spreadsheet from work that I want to review, but I will get fired if it gets out that someone else has a copy of it

music that I ripped from my own CD's,

Photo's from my vacation that I took with my SLR and tweaked in Photoshop so that they look great on my tablet, but don't want to go thru the whole degradation of the image via uploading it to the "cloud" and then back again.

stuff like that
and a few other things

That's almost exactly the reason I got a Thrive.

There are plenty of "bargains" when it comes to e-books if you know where to look. Also, many public libraries loan out e-books, though I am not sure how that works.

johnnieconnie: There are lots of good, free books from Gutenberg Press (new window), if you like classics, plus I've been scouring the B&N web page for bargains, and have found a few (they don't make it easy). My print-based Wired subscription is now available on the Nook, but it wasn't a month ago. Now if my other magazine subscriptions could be convinced to go that way, I would be happier with it.

I'm a librarian in a college library and we will be moving toward ebook checkouts of our academic titles this year from Ebscohost and ebrary. I understand from other librarians' discussions that from a user standpoint it is clunky, with a steepish learning curve, but that's how it is for now.

I have yet to check out the city public library where I live to get my library card and see how to check out books. I know, a librarian without a public library card, but I just moved a few months ago and haven't gotten around to it. *shrug*

Kar98: Kanemano: Kar98: Kanemano: no SD card reader

What for?

video,

that spreadsheet from work that I want to review, but I will get fired if it gets out that someone else has a copy of it

music that I ripped from my own CD's,

Photo's from my vacation that I took with my SLR and tweaked in Photoshop so that they look great on my tablet, but don't want to go thru the whole degradation of the image via uploading it to the "cloud" and then back again.

stuff like that
and a few other things

Wouldn't a USB sync cable do that too?

from Amazon
Link (new window)


Your content will appear within the corresponding content library on your device:

Books will appear in the Books library.
Personal documents will appear in the Docs library.
Music will appear in the Music library.
Pictures will appear in the Gallery app.
Videos will appear in the Gallery app. Note that videos transferred via USB will only be available in the Gallery app. Only videos from the Amazon Video store are shown in the Video library.

Remember: Your Kindle Fire will only recognize transferred files if:

File types are listed under Files Kindle Fire Recognizes below.
Files are transferred to the correct folder for their type.
Files are free of digital rights management software.

too many restrictions, plus I like doubling the size of my available memory for less than $50

Meh, Nook or Kindle, whichever comes out with the color e-ink reader first is the winner to me.

brigid_fitch: As much as I like the Nook, I can't see this as a good thing. With all the pads floating around, dedicated eReaders will become obsolete in a few years.

Note to self: don't ever ask brigid_fitch for investment advice.

Handsome B. Wonderful: brigid_fitch: As much as I like the Nook, I can't see this as a good thing. With all the pads floating around, dedicated eReaders will become obsolete in a few years.

Note to self: don't ever ask brigid_fitch for investment advice.

I think she is right. Even Amazon and B&N admit this by allowing Angry Birds.

I will be royally pissed if BN goes away anytime soon. I live for their quarterly stackable coupon Criterion BluRay sales.

johnnieconnie: Panyen: While I would never buy one, I received a Nook Tablet for Christmas and love it. I have considered turning it into a Android tablet but have decided to just leave stock. I like it fine as an e-reader. My only problem is the anemic app market. B&N really need to open that up. I am glad I didn't get a Kindle because of the lack of SD slot.

Those are all the reasons I got my Nook Tablet, and I was pretty pissed to pay $0.99 for a freakin' calculator (which should have been included). If they don't make some improvements this year I might look into rooting and a custom rom after the warranty runs out. Also, their web site sucks in general compared to Amazon web site. I hope they overhaul it soon. I hadn't looked at it in years until I bought a Nook, so now I am a B&N customer after 15 years as a dedicated Amazon customer. Ya'll listening to this ya stupid companies???

There are lots of good, free books from Gutenberg Press (new window), if you like classics, plus I've been scouring the B&N web page for bargains, and have found a few (they don't make it easy). My print-based Wired subscription is now available on the Nook, but it wasn't a month ago. Now if my other magazine subscriptions could be convinced to go that way, I would be happier with it.


you can use an sdcard to install the new os and the nook will boot off it and no one will ever be the wiser. I did it for my wife and she hasn't used the real OS in about 6 months.

spinning off nook is no different than when BN spun off it's college bookstores and bn.com. its just another way to make the balance sheets less red.

johnnieconnie: Those are all the reasons I got my Nook Tablet, and I was pretty pissed to pay $0.99 for a freakin' calculator (which should have been included). If they don't make some improvements this year I might look into rooting and a custom rom after the warranty runs out. Also, their web site sucks in general compared to Amazon web site. I hope they overhaul it soon. I hadn't looked at it in years until I bought a Nook, so now I am a B&N customer after 15 years as a dedicated Amazon customer. Ya'll listening to this ya stupid companies???

This is why I love my Nook Color. Load Android on SD card and you do not need to root the system or modify it any way, you can dual boot Nook and Android. Unfortunately, B&N killed this ability for the Tablet as far as I can tell.

That said, I also love my enTourage Edge because rather than dual booting, I have Android(2.1) with two screens, one eInk, one LCD. Battery life isn't as good as a true eInk device, but it's a cool device regardless.

taxandspend: Meh, Nook or Kindle, whichever comes out with the color e-ink reader first is the winner to me.

The tech is ready, but the OEMs are slow

GardenWeasel: taxandspend: Meh, Nook or Kindle, whichever comes out with the color e-ink reader first is the winner to me.

The tech is ready, but the OEMs are slow

Interesting. I don't see any mention of refresh rate, but if a color e-ink display could refresh quickly enough to play decent video, and still offered significantly lower power consumption than LCD, I would imagine that every tablet manufacturer would be all over it.

If the refresh rate is the same as in the Kindle I bought last year, though, I don't imagine it would be worth the extra cost for most people.

anfrind: GardenWeasel: taxandspend: Meh, Nook or Kindle, whichever comes out with the color e-ink reader first is the winner to me.

The tech is ready, but the OEMs are slow

Interesting. I don't see any mention of refresh rate, but if a color e-ink display could refresh quickly enough to play decent video, and still offered significantly lower power consumption than LCD, I would imagine that every tablet manufacturer would be all over it.

If the refresh rate is the same as in the Kindle I bought last year, though, I don't imagine it would be worth the extra cost for most people.

I think that really defeats the purpose of what eInk is, eh?

bhcompy: anfrind: GardenWeasel: taxandspend: Meh, Nook or Kindle, whichever comes out with the color e-ink reader first is the winner to me.

The tech is ready, but the OEMs are slow

Interesting. I don't see any mention of refresh rate, but if a color e-ink display could refresh quickly enough to play decent video, and still offered significantly lower power consumption than LCD, I would imagine that every tablet manufacturer would be all over it.

If the refresh rate is the same as in the Kindle I bought last year, though, I don't imagine it would be worth the extra cost for most people.

I think that really defeats the purpose of what eInk is, eh?

For the most part. When my LCD is on a blank page, it shows white 60 times a second. It's sucking power every instant it's on. e-ink would only need to show white once. Video is a stupid application of the technology.

Engadget put out a piece on similar tech a year ago and called the refresh rate "glacial." IMO that's perfect for an electronic photo frame. You'd hardly ever need to plug it in.

The author says qualcomm should put it on a phone. That's goofy. Applying the tech to what's popular doesn't make a lot of sense, and amazon/sony/bn never tried that. LCD screens are on everything, and they're not necessarily needed. They don't need a killer device, they need to know their limits and diversify.

I'm really scared that Kindle and Nook are going to get into an arms race to see who can create the crappiest tablet, and do away with standard, original e-Ink.

I sit around staring into LCDs all day at work. I read for leisure in eInk because I don't want to stare into colorful lightbulbs anymore and give my ruined eyes a rest. God knows I have more than enough opportunities to timewaste on facebook and watch Netflix between my smart phone, Laptop, Work Desktop, XBox 360 and God knows what else.

HempHead: Handsome B. Wonderful: brigid_fitch: As much as I like the Nook, I can't see this as a good thing. With all the pads floating around, dedicated eReaders will become obsolete in a few years.

Note to self: don't ever ask brigid_fitch for investment advice.

I think she is right. Even Amazon and B&N admit this by allowing Angry Birds.

Me too. How many of us still have PDA's separate from your phone?